A Woman Under the Influence

A Woman Under the Influence (1974) is John Cassavetes' drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. At its center is Mabel, a housewife in working-class Los Angeles whose mind is coming apart, and her construction-worker husband Nick, who loves her but understands her less by the day.

Mabel wants desperately for everyone around her to be happy, and that need pushes her into stranger and stranger behavior, especially in front of others. Nick tries to hold the family together, gets embarrassed by his wife, blows up himself, and finally has her committed for six months. Then he is left alone with three kids, waiting for her to come home. Gena Rowlands acts here with a rawness that's almost painful to sit through, one of the great performances in American film.

Cassavetes shoots it like a documentary: long takes, restless handheld camera, dialogue tumbling over itself. Rowlands was up for the Best Actress Oscar and Cassavetes earned a directing nod. The film is heavy and unflinching, made for viewers ready to look at marriage and illness with no gloss. Stream A Woman Under the Influence (1974) online on iFILM.